I really, really, really, really want to finish AmZof long course one day. Before I do that, though, I need to get much stronger on the bike. Finishing AmZof long course is more than just putting in the miles like for an IM. The hills are a particular challenge for me since I don’t really have that type of riding close to me.
I was wondering what a typical AmZof’er’s weekly training looks like for the bike. How many hours are you putting in during the spring and summer? I have a good sense of what I need to do to get ready for this race, but I’d like to compare it to what type of riding others are doing.
I did the short course last year and had a blast (even got an award since there was no one else in my AG!!). It’s very tempting to just do short course again and enjoy the party while the LC’ers are suffering, but I really want to put the LC feather in my hat some day.
Dawn, You could try the F1!
Last year I had a late start with the bike (Ottawa marathon training to qualify for Boston plus huge dump of snow!) but then did a lot of biking with actually very little hill training. My first hill of the season was actually Whiteface in LP end of June (which I did surprinsingly well) followed by 2 loops of IM LP bike course the next day (minus out and back), then 3 to 4 hilly rides just before AmZof.
Use your big gears, use the wind (i.e. head out with tail wind, come back with head wind), etc…
I do not know if I will be back this year. We will see!
I forgot about the F1. That would be very interesting. I’m sure that 2nd lap of the bike is going to be brutal after a 2nd lap of the run. My ultimate goal is long course, but F1 might be all I can handle this year given that I’ve done 0 hours on the bike this year so far!!
I forgot about the F1. That would be very interesting. I’m sure that 2nd lap of the bike is going to be brutal after a 2nd lap of the run. My ultimate goal is long course, but F1 might be all I can handle this year given that I’ve done 0 hours on the bike this year so far!!
I have 0.5 hours on the bike in the past 6 months (only one bike ride since AZ 08), I will probably be in for F1 this year.
As far as long course on the bike, I would say you need to put together 8-10 weeks of 100 - 150 miles of biking, with a 2.5 - 4 hour long ride each week, while still doing 20 - 30 miles of running as a minimum main block. Realistically it is the same as IM bike training, so I would use that as a guide. The AZ long course really is not for everyone, the F1 may be a good stepping stone goal.
It would be interesting to get some feedback from participants, but for those that have done this and an IM. I don’t think you would find anyone who finished the long course who would be a whole lot slower than 13 hours for a full IM. Even people finishing in the 8 - 9 hour range at AZ are probably 10:30 - 11:00 finishers at IMLP (relatively fit athletes). I don’t think BOPer IM people (14 hours+) would be able to finish AZ (unless they improved their fitness) within the time limits (which are much reduced since unlike IM you don’t get to race in the dark).
I hope all is well. For last year and the year before, my average weekly time on the bike (in a non-recovery week) was roughly ten hours per week. Typically the weekly rides would include a hilly stand-alone ride, a steady tempo ride, a hilly ride as part of a long brick and a recovery ride.
The nice thing is that you have a feel for what you are in for, having done the short course. Now stepping up to the long course, you get to have 3x the “fun.”
Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
Dawn, I averaged 7.5 hours/week on the bike during the bulk of my AZ training, with about 3 weeks at about 10-13 hours. My cycling was “adequate” last year. I will be adding significantly to that…averaging about 10 hours/week for at least a couple of months, with some solid 15 hour weeks…but my goal is to challenge Murphy’s Law…which is a TALL order.
Along with that cycling, I’ll keep up the running frequency…6-7 days a week.
I did the AmZof last year having just completed my first IM at Lake Placid. I figured that I’d have enough base for the task. I was putting in about 150 to 200 a week prior the the race and must say I could have used more. It’s very hard. Especially the last loop of the bike course. If you don’t have hills around you you may want to invest in some sort of Computrainer that simulates hills because the hills are tough. Good luck. I’m going to give it another shot in a few years.
Thanks everyone for the replies. I have the time this spring and summer to get some good training hours in. I was thinking of setting up a schedule with about 8 hours of consistent bike training plus 5 - 6 hours of running. If I can do that for several months, then I can assess my fitness in late summer to decide what I can handle. It’s good knowing what the course is like and what I’m in for. The F1 and the short course are good backups in case I don’t follow through, but my ultimate goal is long course. I know I can do it. It’s just a matter of me getting the hours in on a consistent basis (which has always been a problem for me).
Thanks again. I’d love to hear more ideas if anyone has more to add to this thread.
Brian - it will be great to see you and ML going for it this year. Maybe I need to do short course just so I can sit back, drink beer and watch you guys suffer all day!!
Leading into the race I don’t plan to change too much.
However, the one thing I have done differently this year over the last three months that I did not do the last two years (mainly due to injury and sickness in each of those years) is really put in some good base miles at endurance pace. In other words, I have focussed on longer rides of “quality” consistent miles, trying to eliminate low end garbage miles and high end stuff that will cause the tail end of the ride to suffer. As a result, I am now entering the build phase of my training with a solid endurance base and I am seem to be holding higher power for much longer than I have in the past at this point in the process.
